I looked at the shelf where the doctor had been standing. From her angle, the captain couldn’t see what was on the shelf. I saw a half consumed bottle of Tequila. I remember Blake saying alcohol was not allowed on the ship. I grinned. I’ve got an angle.

Captain Jennings then went on her way. The doctor looked at me while I was grinning. She narrowed her brows. “What?”

Blake entered the infirmary looking a bit confused. “Doctor? I heard your call for me over the 1MC. I came right away.” He looked from the doctor to me and back to the doctor. I was smirking. Knowing full well something was wrong, he asked, “Is something wrong?”

The doctor said, “Close the door, lieutenant. Have a seat.”

After Blake closed the door, he approached the small table the doctor indicated and sat down. The doctor opened a drawer, removed two small glasses and set them on the table. She then pulled the Tequila bottle from the shelf and poured some into both glasses. She capped the bottle and sat down.

The doctor lifted her glass, and took a sip and closed her eyes for a moment. She looked at Blake. “Go ahead. Take a drink lieutenant. You’re a fighter pilot so I know you don’t have a virgin tongue. Doctor’s orders.”

Blake hesitantly picked up the glass. He looked at it for a moment, looked at me and then took a gulp knocking his head back. He gasped for a second. “That’s good stuff.” He set the glass back down.

Doctor Lujan looked at Blake. “We have a problem, lieutenant. I don’t like problems.” She pointed at me. “Your girlfriend here doesn’t exactly seem to be female. Oh, she’s severely lacking in testosterone and is hardly a prime example of maleness, but male she sadly is. Care to explain?”

Blake looked over at me, coughed and held up his glass indicating he wanted another shot. The doctor refilled his glass. He then told the doctor, truthfully, about how we were friends before the war and how he’d always have to rescue me from bullies and as of late how I was doing scavenging for money. And how I’d gotten trapped onboard the ship and got stuck being part of the bridge crew.

The doctor leaned back in her chair. “That’s quite a tale, lieutenant. Quite a tale. Here’s our dilemma. You have an unauthorized person on board the ship. A stowaway if you will. The admiral will be furious… both for the fact that your girlfriend is a stowaway and that he was fooled into thinking she was part of the bridge crew. He’s likely to toss her out the airlock and toss you in the pokey. However, your girlfriend has also made it clear she will sing like a canary about the contraband I brought onboard, so I’d be joining you in the pokey as well.

“I’m just guessing, but I figure Tyler would rather not be tossed into space without a suit and I’m guessing you have even less desire to be tossed in the brig than I do. So I propose a deal.”

Blake furrowed his brows and leaned forward. “What kind of deal, doctor?”

Doctor Lujan refilled Blake’s glass and her own. “I propose the only option we all have. I put Tyler on the roster and certify her to be in the very pink of health for an eighteen year old female. And both of you agree to keep your mouths shut. Oh. And I have injections I can give her to make her more feminine. At the end of the mission, and we’re all discharged, I stop giving her injections and after a period of time she reverts back to her old self, such as it is.”

Blake studied me for a moment, knocked back another shot and set the glass down. “I say we have a deal, doc.” He held out his hand and the doctor shook it.

The doctor grinned. “Deal. This paper here is her official measurements. Take her to the ship’s store to get her outfitted. She’ll have to bunk with the girls of course, but I assigned her to a berthing area that’s lightly populated. And remember. To quote a famous old quote, we must all hang together or we will surely hang separately.”

“This is as far as I can go,” said Blake as he handed me the duffle bag he’d been carrying for me. “Your rack is right down there at the end. Get settled in and then meet me back at the mess hall.”

I nodded. “Okay. I think I can find it.” I lifted the bag and then immediately dropped it. “What’s in this thing? Bowling balls?”

“It’s everything you’re going to need and probably more than you’ll need.” Blake slapped me on my backside. “Now get going.”

I wagged my finger at Blake. “Hey. Don’t do that. I’ll see you later.”

I gave up trying to lift the bag and just dragged it instead.

Halfway down the hall, a girl came out of a side room that I later learned was the women’s head. She smiled at me. “I heard we were getting someone new. Let me help you with that. They weigh a ton, don’t they?”

I nodded. “That’s for sure!” She picked up one end I picked up the other and together we made it to the end of the hall.

She set my bag down. “Here’s your rack. By the way, my name is Helen.”

I smiled at her. “Nice to meet you. I’m Tyler. Thanks for the help.”

Helen cocked her head to one side. “Hmm. Don’t see many Tylers. But you’re more than welcome. It’s odd. You’ve got the only rack here. No one is using the others. Want to move in with us? We have a few empty racks.”

I smiled back at her. “Thanks, but I think I’ll stick with what they gave me for now.”

Helen shrugged. “Suit yourself. Oh, before I go, let me point a few things out. That’s the head down the hall. Water is at a premium so no Holiday Inn showers. Actually, it’s timed anyway. You can pull down this modesty curtain for getting dressed. The guys don’t have that option. You fold this out and it’s your desk, computer terminal, and make-up mirror.”

“Make-up? I didn’t bring any with me.” I chuckled. I thought I’d joke about it to hide the fact that I’d never owned any make-up, of course.

Helen kicked my duffle bag. “In there is your standard kit. It’s a regulation for women sailors. The kit contains only items you can wear on duty. You can get other lipstick shades and eye shadows at the PX, but you can’t wear them while on duty.” She held up her hand and wiggled her fingers. “No regulations on nail polish though.”

I laughed. “Here we are, flying across half the galaxy to do mortal combat with alien invaders and we have a choice of nail polish?”

Helen grinned. “Hey, if you’re going to save the Earth, you might as well look good doing it.”

I opened the large bag. “I guess I’d better get this stuff squared away and get my uniform on.”

“Sure thing,” Helen said as she started to leave my rack area. “Oh. When you’re dressed, give me a holler. Me and the girls will give you a hand with your make-up.”

“Thanks.”

I started digging through the bag. In it were lingerie in my size, towels, soap and other toiletries. There was a dress uniform and a work uniform. Both came with options for either a skirt or pants. I opted for the pants.

Helen came back after about twenty minutes to check on me. She nodded at my squared away rack and then called her friends over to help me with my make-up. As they descended upon me with foundation, eye liner, mascara, lipstick and God knows what else, I began to wonder would being tossed out the airlock really be that bad?

“What is it Grynok? I have an empire to run, you know.”

Zykitz nodded. “I’ll organize the mission immediately.”